


Everyone's Brand New And Improved Lost Chapters

by Nhitori



Series: Everyone's Brand New and Improved Killing Game Semester [2]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different Mastermind (Dangan Ronpa), F/F, F/M, M/M, Talentswap
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-29
Updated: 2018-04-06
Packaged: 2019-02-23 15:55:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13193463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nhitori/pseuds/Nhitori
Summary: Moments from Everyone's Brand New And Improved Killing Game Semester that didn't involve a POV character, but definitely happened.  If you're not caught up on the fic this is based on, even a moment taking place early on may have spoilers even for the most recent chapter. Proceed with cautionIf you read both, feel free to suggest a moment you'd like to see!





	1. Tenko + Himiko, Just Prior to Chapter 8

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Everyone's Brand New and Improved Killing Game Semester](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12471300) by [Nhitori](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nhitori/pseuds/Nhitori). 



Tenko Chabashira was drawn to Himiko Yumeno right away.

It was just something about her; Maybe it was how adorably shorter she was in person than in the televised tennis matches that Tenko would sometimes watch over the shoulders of harmlessly lecherous colleagues who swore they watched it for the sport and not the short skirts. Any more degenerate than that, and she would have beaten them up, but this was just regular base camp stuff. Men and women alike got pretty crude after a hard day's work, Tenko herself included. She couldn't hold it against them. Besides, that was how she discovered her own love of tennis.

For the sport. Not the short skirts.

_Obviously._

Himiko Yumeno was the most impressive of all to watch, because she was an Ultimate. Even before the Ultimate Initiative signed her, she was barely a teenager, playing in the big leagues and winning. Tenko often thought, back then, that maybe if they both got signed to the Ultimate Initiative, (Because, weren't they both just that talented?) maybe they would get the opportunity to meet. What Tenko wasn't expecting when they did meet was for all that awe of her skill to bubble up and turn into an inescapable desire to become Himiko's friend. Any pretense of meeting her in a professional manner, as a fan, fell apart within minutes.

Tenko knew that it was strange, to try and become friends with someone out of the blue. She wouldn't do something like that, it would just seem strange. Instead, she decided, she would protect Himiko herself. Stand between this pint-sized Goddess of Tennis and the degenerate males that were surely lurking in this Academy. Tenko hadn't had enough time to observe the boys and pass judgment on them yet, but she was sure that out of eight young men, at least one was degenerate all the way through. So she would defend Himiko from all of them.

"Yumeno!" Tenko proclaimed, "You're going to look at your Ultimate Lab, yes? Allow me to accompany you!"

"Nyehh... Sure, I guess," Himiko shrugged as she started walking in that direction, "It'd be a pain to stop you, so that's fine. I wasn't planning on going there, though. I thought I'd just go take a nap."

Tenko wasn't sure what she expected, but it certainly wasn't that. She walked alongside Himiko, grinning at her, "Well, that's fine too, I'll go with you!"

"That's weird. You're weird, Chabashira," Himiko said, but it sounded a little bit playful, through the drowsiness that coated her speech, "I'm too creeped out to nap now. I guess I'll practice first and nap later," She gave Tenko an amused side-eye, "You wanna play against me?"

"I've never actually played it," Tenko chuckled, "Think you could teach me?"

"Sometime when I'm less tired," Himiko said, with a hand-wave that made Tenko doubt her sincerity, "You've got the legs for it, I guess. You could make a good player."

"Do you have to work extra hard because of your height, Yumeno?" Tenko asked, realizing that was a topic that never seemed to come up in Himiko's interviews, "Or, is that rude of me to wonder?"

Himiko grabbed onto her visor and pulled it down over her eyes, "I said you had the legs to be a good player. A solid player. Not a great one, to be great you need to live and breathe tennis your whole life. I did that. It's exhausting. I'm so tired all the time and it's because of tennis. I use techniques you couldn't even dream of, that no amount of good legs could help you to pull off, even if someone explained to you every step of how to do them. That is my responsibility as the Ultimate Tennis God. It's a stupid responsibility... But it's my only one, so I'll do it."

"Wow..." Tenko was awestruck, "That's amazing, Yumeno! You're passionate about your talent in your own, unique way!"

"Being passionate sounds like a lot of work," Himiko rolled her eyes, then looked up as she saw her lab. Tenko could swear that this elicited a bit of enthusiasm from her, "Ah! It is the Ultimate Tennis Court," She even walked a little bit faster, though she was still at a slower pace than most people naturally walked at. She approached the court, then started to investigate around it, _almost_ smiling at each interesting feature that she found.

Tenko was mesmerized, watching her.

Himiko continued looking over all of the equipment which was bequeathed to her, and Tenko suddenly felt a presence behind her. She spun around, only to find herself face-to-face with none other than Gonta. Tenko didn't have anything to go on in assuming he was more likely to be a degenerate than any of the others, but he was definitely the most built guy here (not that he had much competition) and the idea of giving someone that strong an innocent until proven guilty opinion was terrifying. So, Tenko decided, he was guilty until proven innocent, "Hey! What are you doing here, huh!?"

"Gonta has played tennis! Thought it may be fun, to see court," Gonta explained, trying to step around Tenko. She moved to remain a physical barrier, frowning up at him.

"Are you sure that's your intention? It seems to me like you might just think that Yumeno is a small and easy target!" Tenko continued jumping to conclusions, because she felt that she couldn't afford not to.

"Of course not!" Gonta seemed genuinely shocked that Tenko would imply such a thing, but for all she knew, he could just be a good actor. She wouldn't let her guard down just yet.

"Hmph. Well, if tennis really is what you're here for, why don't you play a game against Yumeno? You think you're so strong with your muscles, and... Your muscles, but she'll defeat you easily!" Tenko proclaimed.

"I don't wanna play," Himiko protested, "I'm too tired..."

"If Yumeno does not want to play, Gonta will play against machine! Sounds fun!" Gonta gladly changed his plan, walking toward the court.

"Well..." Himiko muttered, "If you're gonna be on the court anyway, I guess it may as well be against me. Not like I want to play or anything," She sorted through the bucket of racquets and picked out two. One for herself in her preferred style, and one which seemed a good fit for Gonta. She handed that one to him, then stepped over to her own side of the court.

Tenko sat down outside of the barrier fence to watch through it, cheering Himiko on the whole way through. Shockingly enough, Gonta did manage to score on Himiko a few times, but she still thumped him thoroughly.

[Picks up with the beginning of Chapter 8 of Everyone's Brand New And Improved Killing Game Semester]


	2. Korekiyo and Maki (Between chapters 5 and 8)

Korekiyo noticed when Kaede and Tsumugi left the lab. He hadn't noticed anybody else going into the room, so he knew it would be empty. He was correct, finding himself alone in the room. Korekiyo hadn't known when he planned to come here, what might be in this room, but he did know that he had a bit of panic in his heart.

Ever since Korekiyo found himself contracted into a life of crime and killing sprees, he had only one goal in mind. Use his assassination talents to make friends for his sister. Revenge got him into this mess, so he'd continue acting in her benefit. One hundred friends. All the friends she would have been able to have if she'd lived longer. Now, he needed to find the best way to commit a murder here.

He was so close.

Ninety-nine.

That bear had called this thing a Killing Game. Korekiyo was afraid, then, that he would die before he could fulfill his duty to his sister. If he simply killed someone, however... He would have to go on trial among his peers. Own up to killing not only as a manner of his employment, but for his own personal gain. Not to mention, he didn't want it on his conscience that he was the reason the Killing Game began.

Was there a way to finish the job without starting the Killing Game? He got to contemplating that as he examined the Ultimate Detective's lab. Jackpot. He discovered an entire cabinet full of lethal poisons. Now, to figure out how he was going to use them. Most of these were only single doses, with matching antidotes. Those were mostly useless.

Then, there were the ones which were used for torture. Slow, and lethal even in tiny doses, with a long period of pain and weakness. Those weren't what he was looking for, either. He hated to make girls suffer, to see them in pain. No girl who died a horrific death would want to make new friends in the afterlife, after all. He wouldn't cause such suffering for one of his peers.

Discarding of an antidote, he decided, wouldn't work. There was one of each antidote, and it was likely that was how it was meant to be. To utilize any of these poisons, one would have to have knowledge on working doses; he imagined that smashing the antidote of a single-dose poison would only result in its replacement.

Korekiyo found what he was looking for. There was one dose of antidote for a poison which was lethal beyond a certain amount; the difference in the size of the dose after that only impacted just how long it took. The smallest dose took nearly a week to run its course, but there was plenty here. With this amount, split in half between two victims (as one was bound to receive the antidote), he could make it last between eighteen and twenty-six hours, depending on the fortitude of his victims.

As for who that would be, he just needed to wait for an opportunity. He slipped the poison into his vest, then turned to walk back toward the door, his mind made up. It wouldn't begin the Killing Game, if the culprit died before the victim even did. He had no reason to stick around any longer, once he completed his goal.

By arriving at this Academy, he'd bailed on his last assignment. He couldn't stand a chance anywhere in the outside world, he'd be killed for failing to do the one thing keeping him alive in the eyes of his employer. He had nothing to live for once his goal was completed, and that was how he could complete it without throwing the others into a Killing Game.

Just because he was planning to commit a murder, didn't mean he wanted his peers to have to suffer through something like that. As he was about to open the door, it opened seemingly by itself. He blinked a few times when he saw that it was that Ultimate Robot, "Ah... M4-K1, was it?"

"...Call me Maki," She said, giving him a cold glare as she stepped past him into the room, making a beeline for the bookcases, "It's easier to use a human name for me, right?"

"Whatever you'd prefer. It isn't especially hard to remember your legitimate name," Korekiyo said, "What are you doing here?"

"...I prefer Maki," Maki said, looking over the bookshelf, "On my way up, I, uh... asked Akamatsu to recommend me a book, when she mentioned that she had some novels available up here. What are you doing?"

"I was just investigating all of the labs," Korekiyo said, leaning against the door, "Sherlock Holmes, huh? I didn't know a robot would enjoy fiction."

Maki shrugged, "I haven't read any before, but I can only imagine that it's more interesting than academic textbooks. As the Ultimate Robot, I'm supposed to be more like a human than any other robot, and humans prefer fiction to nonfiction more often than not..."

"So," Korekiyo wondered, "Does that mean that if another robot passed turing tests better than you, then you'd cease to be an Ultimate?"

"I don't know," Maki said, quietly, "I think that Ultimates can repeat, though. There's been several detectives. Several lucks too, I think. The Ultimate Initiative isn't afraid of reusing talents."

"Hm, good point," Korekiyo said, then leaned toward her, "Say, Maki? Are you afraid of the Killing Game?"

"Me?" Maki asked, then glanced away from him as she nodded, "I am."

"Why? Can a robot be killed like a human can? You're so tall, there's plenty of space for you to have two or three of everything important," Korekiyo said, reaching out to touch her shoulder with a smirk. He was one of the only people here who could compare to the robot girl's height.

Maki took a step away from him, backing herself into a corner, "It has nothing to do with me... I'm scared because I don't want anybody else to get hurt."

"Is that because you're capable of human compassion?" Korekiyo asked, following her to the corner and maintaining eye contact, "Do you wonder how I could exist with such little empathy that I can assassinate those I am commanded to? Or is it nothing like that, and it's just because you're a robot who follows Asimov's laws?"

"If I were commanded to kill somebody, my programming would not allow it. But if it were somebody whose death would benefit humanity..." Maki explained, squeezing her eyes shut, "My programming would force me to do it. It's my human compassion that would make me hate myself if that happened. But I know it's your job. Why could I hold that against you?"

"Anybody would," Korekiyo said, backing off and returning toward the door, "So you failed _my_ turing test. It's still just a program. You're still just the woman in the Chinese room, you just have a wonderful dictionary."

And with that, he left to go to the Dining Hall and see if he couldn't get the opportunity he desperately needed to grasp.


	3. Momota + Maki + Amami: After Chapter 42

Upon arriving to Rantaro's lab, Maki turned to Kaito, "Momota. Could you just stand guard right here, with the door a little bit ajar?"

"Huh? Yeah, okay, but..." Kaito looked between the two of them, "What's going on here?"

"I'd like to know that myself," Rantaro said.

"Well," Maki sighed, looking down at her feet, "I need some modifications made to me, by Amami. But I need somebody to be around as a 'witness', basically. I got this weird update, and I'm worried that if I'm left alone in a room with somebody, my programming could make me do something terrible. So, I need that update removed, and I need somebody to stand guard so that my programming doesn't make me kill Amami while he's working on me."

"What sort of an update would make you do that...?" Rantaro questioned, not sounding angry or anything, just worried about her, "Do the people who send you updates know about the Killing Game or something?

"They must," Maki answered, wrapping her arms around herself, "I got the update before, but until Ouma handed out those fliers, it didn't mean anything. But the update says that if I don't kill somebody of my own recognizance by the time Ouma's magic show is finished and cleaned up, then everybody who ever said they wanted to protect me would be killed instead. And then, I have zeroth law functions which prevent first law paradox, so it'd register the latter as the greater evil, and I wouldn't have any choice but to kill someone..."

"I can see why you'd want that update removed," Kaito said, "But what if it comes back?"

"I'll do whatever I can to prevent that," Rantaro said, "But, Maki, I can't just completely block your ability to receive updates. I'll have to give you a physical switch to turn that function on and off, in case there turns out to be an update that you really need."

"That's a good point," Maki said, "In fact, I think if my ability to receive updates were fully blocked, there might be a failsafe in place that would make me shut down, or even override it. A temporary fix is the best that can be done, with my body like this..."

"Hey, don't say that!" Kaito assured her, "There's all sorts of things you can do that other people can't, do. It's just like you're a normal person! Some disadvantages, some advantages, when compared to everyone else. Like, my advantage is that I'm strong and have a great sense of manly honor! And my disadvantage is that my Ultimate Talent is something that a lot of people think is gross."

"Are..." Rantaro squinted at him, "Are you listing your advantages and disadvantages for your love life?'

"It was the first thing I could think of, okay?" Kaito protested, then put one large, reassuring hand to Maki's shoulder, with a grin to match, "Seriously, though, Maki. We'll figure out your robo-problems, it'll all be fine!"

"I... Can't say that I appreciate you calling them Robo-problems, but I get what you're trying to say. Thanks," She turned to Rantaro then, "Let's go inside, then. I'd like to get this dealt with soon. Oh, and it should go without saying, this stays between the three of us! I don't want everyone knowing I have to comply by Asimov's Laws... If anyone here did want to commit a murder, then that knowledge would be bad for them to have!"

"My lips are zipped," Kaito said.

"Mine too," Rantaro said, then motioned for her to come into his lab with him. She sat down on the same table she'd sat on when he was first analyzing her alloys and general construction, then took a few deep breaths to try and calm down. Rantaro stepped up to her, and opened up the panel on her back, and got to work. She barely felt it. He had deft, gentle fingers, and soft hands. It surprised her, that they were so soft. Shouldn't an inventor's hands be calloused, from hard metalworking? Maybe he was just careful about it. Or maybe, as a natural talent, he just never needed to do those things so often that they'd leave an impact on his skin.

"Okay, Maki, your software access is in your back here," Rantaro said, his voice quiet and just as gentle as his hands. Maki didn't feel at all worried now, like he had some sort of calming effect, "I'll delete the offending update first, then I'll get to work on the modifications. You should be fine to stay powered on while I do this, it's not a very in-depth fix..."

"You're really gentle," Maki decided to voice her observation, "Where'd you learn to be this way? Your inventions can't feel a thing."

Rantaro waited a moment before he answered, "Well, I wouldn't talk to an invention like this. You're not just an invention, you're also a girl. And I grew up with a lot of sisters, so I guess... I know how to keep a girl calm. That sounds kind of bad when I say it out loud, though."

"No, not at all," Maki said, "I think the same techniques would keep a guy calm too, though. But it sounds like you were close with them..."

"I was," Rantaro said, "Really close! That's how I got into inventing in the first place, I wanted to make their lives easier. But... I don't think they'll miss me too much, if I'm here for three years. I mean, they will miss me cause we got along and everything, but it's not like they'll panic without me there. They know I would never abandon them, and that I'll be back eventually... They'll be okay without me, though. I always kind of thought I should be able to protect them, but I ended up becoming more of a gentle friend than a fearless protector, but they can handle themselves. Well enough, anyway, it's not like I ever did much for them."

"You must miss them though," Maki noted.

"Yeah," Rantaro admitted, "Of course I do. But not so much that I'd try to get away with murder, just to get back to them sooner. I'm useless to them until I'm an adult anyway, may as well spend that time here."

"Kinda sounds," Maki muttered, "Like something bad was happening, in the outside world, for you..."

"Well," Rantaro noted, "My father, for me to end up with so many sisters, really found his vice in women. His own blood weren't exactly an exception... And there was never anything I could do. But once I'm an adult, and royalties start coming straight to me from my inventions, I'll get them all out of there."

"That's pretty noble, Amami," Maki said.

"You think so?" He asked, and she just nodded. A comfortable silence fell between them until Rantaro had finished fixing the problem, then sent her on her way. While he was packing up his tools, Kaito came into the lab.

"Hey, Amami," Kaito got his attention, and to Rantaro's surprise, he turned to see a grim look on his face, "You know, we need a backup plan."

"A backup plan?" Rantaro asked as he set a wrench down, "What do you mean by that? Are you concerned that Maki will do something even with my modifications?"

"I mean," Kaito said, "If the update came back. It's possible, right? And if there's someone here who's in charge, they'll know what we did, and they'll change it back. There's plenty of ways this could go wrong, so you know what has to be done, right? We have to make the magic show happen sooner. If the update doesn't get the chance to come back before its deadline, then it won't have any effect, right?"

"It is probable that it's designed to be triggered by a moment, not the state of the show being cleaned up," Rantaro observed, "But how do you propose we do that? Everyone is working hard to put on Ouma's show, asking them to move it up would just be a bad idea."

"So we don't ask them," Kaito said, "We ask Monokuma."

"There's no way it would agree to a ploy like that," Rantaro said, "It's not trustworthy and it wants us to kill each other."

"Not right now," Kaito said, "Right now it wants us to become friends and not kill each other, so it would probably agree to it. Come on, we have to try. And, if something does go wrong, Amami... I want you to find some way to make a weapon that can't be traced easily. I'll give it to Maki and tell her to kill me, if it comes down to that. It can't save her, but it can save others. And it can buy you time to figure out who could have flipped her switch."

"But, Momota, why would you throw your own life away like that? Let me do it-"

"No," Kaito said, clenching his fists, "As a man, I can't let you take this burden from me. I couldn't put a real memory to it, but I remember the feeling, on the outside world. A feeling of wanting to disappear. Of not wanting to live anymore... And what sort of fool am I, to think that before, but not be willing to lay down my life for my friends? This is something that I need to do, if it comes down to the wire."

"I understand," Rantaro said, and that was the last time he would speak to Kaito before handing him the weapon. Handing him his death sentence.

Feeling like it should have been him.

Disgracefully, letting Kaito's sacrifice go in vain when he tried to die anyway.

Carrying on his memory the best he could when he survived.

Still, it should have been him.


	4. Kirumi + Kiibo, After Chapter 78, Spoilers for up to Chapter 107

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO here's the Long Lost Chapter, fun fact, Kirumi my biggest DR waifu.

Kirumi didn’t know what she was doing, and that had never been more evident than in The Killing Game. She had an element, and it was a very specific one to be in. She could command great attention in any room filled with nerds, and that was the extent of what she could do when it came to socialization, leadership, or really any human interaction. Among all these other Ultimates, she felt horrifically out of place. Her references soared overhead like brain-damaged hawks, and everything she said came across as awkward.

To most of them, anyway.

But there was one person who, while he probably didn’t understand half the words she said, never made her feel that way. He had managed within the scope of one day to become a master in the art of humoring her, and though she knew that was what he was doing, it helped. She felt comfortable around him. More comfortable than she did with anybody else, and by standing next to him at all times, she didn’t have to worry about it. She could only play a character when she was dressed for the part, and how was she supposed to dress the part for conversing with fellow teens?

Not to mention, the help that Kiibo gave her when she found herself poisoned. He even vouched that she should be the one to get the antidote, and while she couldn’t say she valued her own life over Himiko’s, she had to be grateful for the thought. In the end, it was just luck that saved her over Himiko. They had to leave it up to luck, though. It would be much too awful, to have to choose between them. Kirumi still found it profoundly awful, to watch as her peers split apart into groups hung on the string of her life’s meaning.

It wasn’t like everybody wanted her dead, obviously. There were the people who sided with Kiibo. And it wasn’t like the people who sided with Tenko actually wanted Kirumi dead. If they did, they’d just kill her, or have disagreed with the coin toss. Even so, wishing that Himiko had lived, in that situation, still left the feeling that they wished she had died instead. That made it even more difficult to show any confidence around those people, and she found herself attaching even more to Kiibo.

Though, it wasn’t all bad. She was able to connect with Miu, and even able to keep her composure long enough to ask a strange favor of Shuichi and Kokichi, to throw the vote for Kiibo’s sake. She knew he would be upset to know she’d asked something like that, but he wouldn’t find out. He’d be more upset to lose the vote, even if he claimed he wouldn’t. Well, at least, Kirumi thought as much.

If there was one thing she knew about dealing with people, it was what sort of lies needed to be told. It wasn’t as if she was good at lying, but there were harmless lies told all the time in her line of work, and she was no exception. Lying and saying it was fine to have her picture taken when she wasn’t even in the full costume, wig in her hand. Simple things like that, and this was no different. Sometimes, Kirumi thought, men were children, and needed to be handled with kiddie gloves. Kiibo, remarkably little compared to the type of people she usually got to know.

But there was still a little bit there. Nobody liked to lose, especially not somebody for whom winning was an asset of his existence. So Kirumi lied. She went behind his back to insure a victory. At least, that’s what she thought she was doing. Even as she assured him that he would be able to win the vote, however, he was still acting strangely. He didn’t seem to actually be concerned with the vote, but something else entirely, and Kirumi just couldn’t figure out what that could possibly be.

She wasn’t ever meant for this sort of thing. Interpreting emotions was something completely outside of her purview, and uncovering secrets, even less. Where Kiibo had once been a comfort to her, Kirumi now found herself feeling more than ever before that while she may have held the title of Ultimate in her field, that wasn’t really good for much. The Ultimate Cosplayer was still just a cosplayer, and even with all of those skills turned up to eleven, she couldn’t really be of any help to anyone.

Even still, when people started pointing out Kiibo’s strange behavior, when he started to act even stranger about the fact that he “hadn’t been acting like himself”, Kirumi didn’t hesitate to say that she’d fix it. Fixing things was something she could do, something she often volunteered to do. As the Ultimate Cosplayer, she could spot a fatal fault in a costume from a mile away, and wouldn’t hesitate to offer five minutes of her time to keep it from falling apart.

She had never tried to fix a human situation before. She somehow knew that she couldn’t. But she had to try, didn’t she? She couldn’t just walk away from Kiibo, and from the others who’d come to see somebody like her as a friend. So when he went away, she followed him, right to his lab, and closed the door behind herself. There was a long stretch of silence between them until Kiibo finally said something, “Tojo. I can only assume you think the same of me as the others?”

“Not the same,” Kirumi said, “But I am worried. You don’t seem happy.”

“It’s hard to be happy in a Killing Game,” Kiibo said, “So I wouldn’t hold that as much judgment of my overall emotional condition.”

“Maybe not,” Kirumi said, sighing as she looked away, “I guess, that was the wrong way to put it. It seems to me like you’re stressed, too much. Like even in moments where you should be happy, just to get away from things like dread for a little bit, you’re too preoccupied with something else to take that opportunity.”

“Huh,” Kiibo said, turning to face her now with a bitter smile, “You may only know people as far as fiction writes them, but I guess you’ve gotten to know me pretty well, at least. You’re right. I’m very worried about something.”

“You can tell me,” Kirumi said.

“I probably can,” Kiibo said, “But can I trust you? To resolve my concern, I’ll need unquestioning cooperation on your part. It may seem like I’m telling you to do something strange, but it’s imperative, for the good of everybody. For everybody here… And for the entire outside world, too. Obviously, I wouldn’t let myself be this stressed by any matter but one of grave importance.”

“Of course you can trust me,” Kirumi said, “I know that of anybody here, you know what’s best. If it’s for everyone’s benefit, I’ll help you. If it’s really that important… Then, I’ll do it. I don’t need to know _why_ something I do will help.”

“Thank you,” Kiibo said, “I know… Well, I already decided I could trust you when I told you about the Future Foundation. I guess the better question is, do you trust me?”

“You’re the only person here who made me feel welcome,” Kirumi said, holding a hand to her chest, “You helped me become friends with the others, by standing at your side… If not for you, then there wouldn’t have been a reason to leave it up to chance. I never did anything, before I got poisoned, to make anyone else care about my life. I’d be dead.”

“But that doesn’t mean you trust me,” Kiibo said, putting his arms behind himself and leaning back on the desk, “I’d trust you to do what I need, I have no doubts you’ll do that. But I’d like it if you did trust me, before we attempt this. It’s something so important it may well cost us our lives, to be honest. I wouldn’t want to make you get involved with this if you didn’t fully agree that it’s the best course of action from where we stand.”

“Maybe if you told me more about what the problem is,” Kirumi said, “I mean, I’ll do it. But if you want me to agree with you, I need to know where you’re standing first.”

“Right,” Kiibo said, closing his eyes with a heavy sigh, “I have reason to believe… That at least some of our peers have been afflicted with Despair Fever.”

“What’s Despair Fever?” Kirumi asked, moving to sit on the desk next to Kiibo.

“It’s a disease which breeds Despair in people who usually wouldn’t become Despair on their own,” Kiibo said, “At least, that’s what I learned with Future Foundation. I believe in the hearts of our classmates, that they would never be falling apart like this normally. They’re Ultimates, and they’re good people, so the fact that they’re telling lies and lashing out at each other now, letting their sadness taint their actions… It can only be Despair Fever. We need to uphold Hope in the world.”

“So what are you thinking of doing? How do we cure Despair Fever?” Kirumi asked, looking into his eyes.

Kiibo hesitated just a moment before he gave her his answer, “It shouldn’t be that difficult, if we work together. By the nature of Despair Fever, if we try to explain it, it could get worse. The reason I need your help is because you’re the one that Iruma’s trusting to feed everyone while she’s taking a break. We need to drug them, that’s all. Anti-anxiety medicine tomorrow night at dinner, then antibiotics for the next few meals should be enough.”

“I can do that,” Kirumi said, “But… Why would that be dangerous?”

“Because,” Kiibo said, shrugging his shoulders, “Despair Fever had to get here somewhere. Maybe it’s the reason The Mastermind is doing this to us, they’re just too far gone to help. Or Monokuma put it here. Or it could be someone other than The Mastermind, who didn’t even realize they were infected. Any of those situations mean that somebody could want us dead after finding out what we’re trying to do.”

“Oh, I understand,” Kirumi said, clasping her hands behind her back with a weak smile, “Thank you for not asking me to prove that I trust you.”

“I wouldn’t know how you’d prove it,” Kiibo said, “But if you still want to help me now that you know the truth, that’s proof enough for me. After all, I know that you decided your secrets should follow you to your grave. I wouldn’t ask you to open up to me when you don’t want to talk about it.”

“That’s very kind of you,” Kirumi said, then released her hands again and reached out, setting just her smallest finger over Kiibo’s, “Did the Future Foundation teach you to be such a charmer, Idabashi?”

“Only to large groups of people,” Kiibo said, “I mean… Actually, to tell you the truth, this is the first time I’ve really been able to get to know people my own age on a personal level like this. And I know that a lot of what you say goes over my head, but if we ever got out of here, I’d want to get to know about the things you like. It’s nice to have friends, and I’m glad you’re one of mine.”

“I’m glad too,” Kirumi said, “You’re a different type of friend than the ones I used to have. It’s kind of nice to know somebody who’s passionate about something different from me.”

“It is interesting, to get to know other Ultimates. It’s nice that we can become friends because what we have in common is a passion for something, even when they’re passions for completely different things,” Kiibo noted, “Having an Ultimate Talent… It’s a strange thing, isn’t it? It takes something that you loved doing, and it turns it into a real responsibility. Ultimates carry the future of the world on their shoulders, that’s what they always told me at the Future Foundation. All that we could do, until I got my title, was do what we could to chip away at Despair while Ultimates worked for a better world…”

“...Idabashi,” Kirumi said, averting her eyes and speaking quietly, “I can’t help but feel like I’ve forgotten something about the outside world.”

“Me too,” Kiibo sighed, “I can remember having these conversations, but I can’t imagine the context for them. It almost feels like the outside world is a bleak place for absolutely everyone, not just those of us tagged as Tragic Ultimates. And it’s almost like… I received my Ultimate Talent only in concept. Like how Akamatsu had never actually solved a case before she was proclaimed Ultimate Detective… Maybe, even though I had all of the skills for it, I never really could have become the Prime Minister.”

“I don’t think that’s true,” Kirumi said, crossing her legs and leaning against him, “You could have. If we didn’t get put here, and you kept growing up… You have the ambition. Even if the outside world is some bleak Hellscape, where you never could win the voters’ hearts by being yourself, you would have found a way to convince them. That’s what makes you the Ultimate Supreme Leader. Even if you have to lie, or even hurt people to get where you need to be… You have the world’s best interests at heart with everything you do.”

“You really think so?” Kiibo asked.

“If that wasn’t the case,” Kirumi said, “Then you never would have been an Ultimate. You have to go above and beyond all others in your field, to be considered an Ultimate, right? Even if you only went above and beyond in concept,” She tilted her head and chuckled a bit, “Hey, when did you first decide that you wanted to be Prime Minister someday?”

“Huh?” Kiibo was caught off guard by the question, then leaned against her as well, sealing them into as much contact as was possible while they sat next to each other on a desk, “When I was four. I never said it like other little kids do, like they just need something to say they want to be when they grow up. I said it for two whole years. Someday I’ll be the Prime Minister! And I’ll make everybody happy, that’s what I’ll do. I’ll make Japan a better place for everybody!” He trailed off in his imitation of his younger self, “So when I was six, I started being homeschooled by Future Foundation members who worked with my dad. I guess I was kind of lying, that I was just meant to be their tool. I didn’t start that way. They just took the opportunity to morph my goals. That’s probably why I can still think for myself.”

“I thought as much,” Kirumi said, “You wanna know how?”

“Yes, do tell,” Kiibo said, “I’m quite shocked that you were able to catch me out that way.”

“Your eyes light up,” She said, “Every time you talk about the future. You see a bright future. That’s rooted in your heart. I can read that much about a person.”

“Yeah…” Kiibo noted, kicking his feet out in front of him a bit, “In another life, I would have done it. I’d become the Prime Minister of the country, and it wouldn’t stop there either. I’d make Japan a better place, and I’d make the way we influence other countries better, too. I’d have done it someday, even if I was old, even if I had to run twenty campaigns before I ever got elected. The only sad part is I never would have met all of you.”

“Who knows,” Kirumi said, “Maybe you would have. Maybe you’d go to see one of Ouma’s shows, or Akamatsu would help with a federal investigation, or something. Maybe you’d even need a disguise sometime, and then I would have made your acquaintance, and I bet even in that other lifetime, we’d become friends. I think we would always be destined to, maybe. That sounds dumb, doesn’t it? But I don’t know. We make a good team. What sort of fate wouldn’t let that happen, even if everything else in the world was different?”

“You put an awful lot of faith in the same fate that landed us in a Killing Game,” Kiibo said, “But you’re right… I can’t imagine not getting to know you, after meeting you, in any life. You’re a very intriguing young woman.”

“Heh…” Kirumi blushed a bit, looking away, then frowned as her tone grew more morose, “Though… Isn’t it sad that we’re thinking this way? Like it has to be another life? Like there’s no way we’ll make it out on the other side of this game, and you could become Prime Minister then? I don’t know why, that’s plausible, but I have this sinking feeling that it’s not actually possible.”

“Kirumi,” Kiibo said, pulling away from her and staring up at the ceiling, strain cracking his voice, “You know, I don’t think that I’m going to survive to the end of this.”

“If it progresses like a normal Killing Game,” Kirumi said, “Then only five people will. I don’t think I’d be one of them. You, though… You’ll do just fine. You’re a good person, nobody would want to kill you, even with a motive. You’re involved, with a strong presence. People would really miss you if you died. Who’s gonna kill someone like that?”

“That’s kind of you to say,” Kiibo noted, then stood up, keeping his face out of her view, “But that’s too much optimism.”


End file.
